I have a 82 GSL and in trying to get it to daily driver status, I gotta fix the brakes. I have discs all around and theres a bad leak in rear brakes comming from the calipers. I found a rebuild kit at napa for around 40 bucks, but I was wondering if there are any aftermarket calipers or calipers from other vehicles that will be plug and play.

 

Are you sure its the calipers? Or is it teh lines going into them?

And if it is leaking maybe its some sort of bad seal? I don't know, I never checked my rear calipers to see how they are constructed...

 

Aftermarket calipers such as Remanufactured replacements for the originals?

No there are no other calipers from other vehicles that are bolt on.

I don't recommend rebuilding calipers.
Try this site for a replacement caliper.
www.rockauto.com

 

I recently rebuilt the rear calipers on my car. I was installing a used GSL rearend, and didn't want to trust the calipers. It's not too difficult to rebuild them, other than getting the parking brake mechanism apart and back together.
There are only 2 seals that actually hold the brake fluid into the caliper. One is just an o-ring on the park brake actuator, the other is the piston lip seal. The piston seal can be tricky to get into place.
If the caliper is badly rusted inside, I'd advise against even attempting to do it yourself. If you have little experience with brake compontent rebuilding, it's probably best to go with reman calipers.
The website Doc posted has good pricing for the reman's, and many people here have applauded rockauto for excellent customer service.
I'm one with plenty of experience with this type of stuff, and I rate this job as a 7 out of 10 on difficulty, due to the park brake mechanism. I just HAD to see if I could do it myself, especially since I found the kits for ~$4 each.
$40 for a kit, or ~$60 for a reman with a warrentee, go for the reman.

 

If it is the calipers, you can always spend the $85 X 2 for rebuilt ones and be on your way.

Mike

 

I bought rebuilt calipers at Advance Auto for just a little more than the rebuild kit cost...

- David

 

It could be an axle seal...is the fluid really thick and sticky? If so, it's rear end fluid and not brake fluid.

Why not Doc? I recommend rebuilding anything rather than buying new, and long as the old piece isn't damaged. It's very rewarding to bring a trashed piece back to life, and it's almost always cheaper. I rebuilt the calipers as well as the master cylinder, the clutch master and slave cylinders, and the wheel cylinders on the stock rear end before I swapped in the SE rear end. All are working perfectly.

Rich

 

i had to rebuild my rear calipers to remedy the parking brakes and what a pain in the *ss. The other guys are right when they say the parking brake is the hard part. because of this i wouldnt even recomend doin the rebuild. BUY NEW ONES.

 

2nd gen calipers should fit with minor mods

 

i'll third the parking brake deal, FB = hard

 

I had all four on my GSL rebuilt by a shop in town. Cost the same as reman and they pretty much did that, all new hardware, and completely cleaned and new seals and whatnot. Not one problem with them yet.

 

I'm pretty sure its the calipers or the rear seals since I the lines look fine when pressure goes through the lines... and when I got the car, the previous owner left a couple partially filled bottles of brake fluid lying around. I have limited experience working on (newer) brake systems, but from what it sounds like, I don't really want to be messing with the parking brakes. I'm leaning towards getting a couple reman calipers at this point.
How difficult is it to swap the calipers? and since I'm changing up the rears, would it be beneficial to get the fronts replaced also?

 

Swapping out the calipers is easy. Hardest part is bleeding the air out. If you have any doubts about the fronts, replace them. That will leave you with only one old item that can fail, the Master cylinder. They are fairly cheap, as well.
The front calipers are about 1/2 the cost of the rear.
Gonna go as far as all new calipers and MC, might as well get stainless brake hoses and good quality pads. At that point, your brake (hydralic) system will better than new.

 

Rich,
How you doing buddy?
For a inexperienced person the brakes are the last thing you want to learn on.
When you factor in doing them properly. With the proper caliper assembly lube and a hone to clean up the piston bore. Why not just buy a set of calipers with a warranty and be done with it. The hydraulic portion of the brakes I have always advised members to buy either reman or new products.